Video shared with FOX Weather shows the faint outline of a home along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina collapsing into the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.
RODANTHE, North Carolina – Crews have been busy clearing debris along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina after another home fell victim to the power of the Atlantic Ocean when it collapsed and fell into the water earlier this week.
Video shared with FOX Weather shows the faint outline of the home on Ocean Drive in Rodanthe falling into the water around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday.
After the unoccupied home collapsed, a 1-mile section of the beach was closed to allow crews to begin cleanup efforts.
A time-lapse video shows a home that collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean along North Carolina’s Cape Hatteras National Seashore and work completed to remove it from the water.
A time-lapse video showed the home in the water and falling apart due to the power of the waves crashing onshore, as well as crews arriving to remove the structure from the ocean and putting it into a truck to be hauled away.
According to a news release from the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, visitors had been urged to avoid some local beaches because the debris from the home was expected to drift in that direction.
“Dangerous debris may be present on the beach and in the water,” the news release said. “Additional beach closures may be necessary as the debris spreads and cleanup efforts proceed.”
Home is sixth to collapse into Atlantic Ocean since 2020
This photo shows a home that collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.
(National Park Service)
Tuesday’s house collapse along the beach on Cape Hatteras in North Carolina is now the sixth to fall victim to the Atlantic Ocean since 2020.
According to the National Park Service (NPS), the daily effects of wind, waves and tides, along with rising ocean levels and storms that have battered the coast, have played a big part in contributing to coastal erosion at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
The NPS said the effects of erosion in the villages of Rodanthe and Buxton have resulted in homes and other structures being vulnerable to the elements along the beach or in the intertidal area, which results in reduced beach access for the safety of visitors.
It also leads to a loss of habitat for shorebirds and sea turtles.
Since 2020, six privately owned homes have collapsed on Cape Hatteras National Seashore beaches. Four of those occurred over a 13-month period, and two collapsed on the same day.